PRESIDENT SATA RECEIVES APPEAL FROM CZECH COUNTERPART OVER DETAINED

Czech President Vaclav Klaus has written a letter to his Zambian counterpart, Michael Sata over the three detained Czech citizens in Lusaka.

According to the Czech media, Mr Klaus’s personal letter to Mr Sata was conveyed by a special envoy, Foreign Minister, Vladmir Galuska, in which he stated that the detained nationals did not plan any crime.

The three Czech men, Jiri Cetl, Jan Coufal and Michal Veber, who came into Zambia as tourists, are alleged to have been caught taking photographs in a prohibited locality however they have been detained on charges of espionage.

But the Czech reports that Mr Klaus now hopes that the case will be assessed quickly and justly.

And Mr Galuska has confirmed that he delivered his president’s personal letter to President Sata, further stating that his countrymen are in good health and he is optimistic that the matter will amicably be resolved.

The Czech tourists, who were photographing military barracks and an air base in Lusaka in October face up to 25 years in prison, if found guilty of espionage charges, which they however deny and they have since been released on bail.